North Carolina

North Carolina Description

Riches gained from the endless toil of black slaves in the southern states was certainly a controversial front-burner issue between North and South. Though North Carolina had few slaves when compared to others, it followed South Carolina, seceded from the union on May 20, 1861, and joined the Confederacy. America's Civil War soon followed, a war that would eventually all but destroy the southern states.

Significant battles occurred in North Carolina, and it reportedly supplied more men and more materials to the Confederate cause than any other state. In the end this once peaceful and prosperous place was in ruins, and in the end, it sadly suffered more dead than any other southern state.

During the lengthy reconstruction period southern states were all placed under military control. After North Carolina approved a new constitution outlawing slavery, it was readmitted to the Union on June 25, 1868.

Following the tragic assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson from North Carolina assumed that high office and served as America's 17th President (1865-1869). During his term he helped bring hydro-electric power to the state, and the resurgence of its tobacco industry.

North Carolina was the site of one of man's most important events, as the modern aviation industry was born here when the Wright Brother's (Orville and Wilbur) made the first successful powered flight (by man) at Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk in 1903.

By the mid-1920's tobacco production, furniture manufacturing and textile industries propelled the local economy into a nation-leading position in many areas. Then, in 1929, America's stock market crashed, the Great Depression took a strong hold, and North Carolina and all southern states would suffer once again.

In the 1930's, much-needed government social programs, new dams and roads, and dramatically reduced taxes brought spurts of growth. World War II continued that spark as war-related industries built new plants in North Carolina, and high unemployment levels began to fall, for blacks and whites alike.

Festering racial tensions peaked here in 1960 when black students in Greensboro refused to leave a Whites-only lunch counter. Their efforts and the on-going Civil Rights movement across the south forced the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as the U.S. Government banned the segregation of public places and schools. In the 1970's, schools across North Carolina were finally integrated.

North Carolina established the Research Triangle Park in the Raleigh/Durham area in the 1950's. Anchored by Duke University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina, this trend-setting collaboration between educational facilities, governmental organizations and high-tech businesses achieved great success. That acclaimed cooperative research concept continues today across the state, and specifically in the new North Carolina Research Campus.

North Carolina is also home to some of the most stunning scenery in America, including the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and the nation's busiest national park, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

North Carolina's geography and topography provides residents and visitors an unparalleled selection of recreational activities, including some of the best freshwater and saltwater fishing venues anywhere. In addition there's a wide variety of biking, boating, camping, hiking, sailing and skiing opportunities, and when you add historic sites, lighthouses, professional sports, theme parks, and much, much more to that mix, well, the beautiful State of North Carolina is certainly worth a postcard, or two.